Construction of railways and vehicles for transporting light loads at high speed.



No. 784,269. PATENTED MAR. 7, 1905. D. MONN CONSTRUCTION OP-RAILWAYS AND IGLE R TRANSPORTING LIGHT LOA DS AT HIGH SPE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA UG. 25. 1903.

No. 784,269. PATENTED MAE. 7, 1905. D. MONNIER.

CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS AND VEHICLES FOR TRANSPORTING LIGHT LOADS AT HIGH SPEED.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 25. 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A AA J N0.7s4,2s9. PATENTEDMAR. 7, 1905.

1). MONNIER. CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS AND VEHICLES FOR TRANSPORTING LIGHT LOADS AT HIGH SPEED.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

No. 784,269. PATENTED MARQ7, 1995.

D. MONNIER. CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS AND VEHICLES FOR TRANSPORTING LIGHT LOADS AT HIGH SPEED.

APPLICATION FILED 11116.26, 1903.

4 SHEETS8HEET 4.

No. 784,269. I Patented March 7,1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DIMITRI ll IONNIER, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS AND VEHICLES FOR TRANSPORTING LIGHT LOADS AT HIGH SPEED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,269, dated March 7, 1905.

Application filed August 25, 1903. Serial No. 170,719.

T all 1071/01! it m y OOYMW'IIII the objects to be transported is arranged be- Be it known that I, DIMITRI MONNIER, electween the two motors.

trical engineer, a citizen of the Republic of The vehicle is provided with special devices France, residing at 53 Rue de Ohateaudun, for effecting, in addition to the electric brak- 5 Paris, France, have invented a new and useful ing, a mechanical braking by the application Construction of Railways and Vehicles for of brake-blocks against the guide-rail and Transporting Light Loads at High Speeds, of also a retarding action by the spreading of which the following is a specification. wings or movable shutters which serve to in- This invention relates to the construction crease the resistance of the air to the motion IQ of a railway and vehicles for the electrical of the vehicle.

transport of letters, light parcels, and thelike On theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 0 whereby a speed of at least two hundred and shows a cross-section of a closed conduit or fifty kilometers per hour under good practitube with two superposed lines of rail, the cal conditions can be attained. inclined positions of the lines of. rail and of V I 5 The invention comprises both the constructhe vehicles being indicated in dotted lines.

tion of the railway or conduit and of the ve- Figs. 2 and 2"" show a part side elevation of a 5 hicles for the transport. There are prefervehicle. Figs. 3 and ShOW a complete verably provided two lines of rail, one for the tical section. Figs. t and P representa parttransport in one direction and the other for horizontal section approximately on line A D,

2 that of the other direction, andthe two lines Fig. 3, and a part plan. Fig. 5 is a er0sssecbeing arranged one above the other in a closed tion on lines E F and Gr H, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is 7 conduit tunnel or tube. The lines consist a horizontal section through the axis of one each of a single running-rail with a guideof the two motors, which are identical. rail, the latter being arranged above the ve- In Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1 is the conduit 2 5 hicle, which embraces it with two pairs of or tube, 2 is the running-rail, and 3 the guidehorizontal rollers. The sectional form of the rail, of the lower line, and 2 and 3 the rails conduit or tube in which the lines of rail are of the upper line. At 4 and 4C are shown the laid, as also the form of the supports for the vehicles. In the curves the vehicle tends to asrails, are such that neither the one nor the sume a more or less horizontal position in con- 3 other requires to be modified at the curves, sequence of the centrifugal action. The rails while allowing the vehicles to assume an inare in consequence so arranged as to cause the 3C clined position to the extent required by the vehicle to assume an inclination which is the high speed. The vehicle has two runningresultant of the direction of gravity and that wheels and two electromotors,each driving one of the centrifugal force, as indicated by the dot- 35 of the wheels. Each motor comprisesacentral ted lines. The inclination may be considerable stator and a rotor, the casing of which forms in curves of small radius, such as forty-five 3 5 two pulleys, over which pass belts that drive degrees for a speed of about two hundred and two pulleys on the axle of the corresponding fifty kilometers per hour. In order that the running-wheel. Owing to this mode of transsupports for the rails may be suited to receive 4 mission by belts, the motor can be attached to these, no matter what the degree of inclination the framework of the vehicle, although this may be, without requiring to be modified in 9 be mounted on springs. This also allows of the form, either as regards the conduit or the bearmotor being worked at the speed at which it ers, the supporting-surfaces are formed as gives the greatest useful effect or which is surfaces of rotation whose central axis coin- 45 best suited for the distribution of the electric cides with the center of gravity of the vehicle.

current, as it is not requisite that it should By this means when the vehicle enters a curve revolve at the same speed as the runningits center of gravity will not be subject to any wheel which it drives. lateral displacement. The supporting-sur- The chamber of the vehicle for containing faces for the running and guide rails being of cylindrical form, the rail can be fixed to any point thereof which simplifies the construction.

In Figs. 2 to 5 of the drawings, 5 5 are the two driving-wheels of the vehicle; 6 6 and 6 6, the two pairs of horizontal guide-rollers which are mounted on vertical axes 7 7 and 7 7, the lower ends of which can turn on articulated joints 8 8.

A spring 9, Fig. 5, keeps the rollers permanently in contact with the rail 3. Two other springs 10 10 transmit to the framing the strains to which the rollers may be subject. These strains would only be occasional. They may result either from momentary pressure when the Vehicle enters a curve or from a stoppage or retardation on an inclined part of the line.

Each of the wheels 5 5 of the vehicle is driven, as stated, by an electromotor 11 11, which is preferably one worked by polyphase currents. It is composed of a central fixed support 12, Fig. 6, bolted to a collar on the fixedshaft 13, and a rotor 1 that turns round this shaft upon bearings 35, carried thereby.

The casing of the rotor constitutes two pulleys 15 15, which by means of two belts 16 16, Figs. 2 and 3, transmit to the corresponding wheel 5 or 5 the rotary eflort of the motor. For this purpose the wheel carries two pulleys 17 17. The uniform tension of the belt is insured, notwithstanding its limited length and the displacements resulting from the yielding of the suspension-springs, by means of two springs 18, which act on the motor that is suspended from beams 19, pivoted on the axis 20, Figs. 2, 3, 4. This construction, which preserves the independence of the axles, enables the vehicles to be made only slightly larger in width than the motor.

The current can be supplied to the motors by means of sliding contacts 31 from three conductors 21 21 21, extended along the tunnel. The running and guide rails might also be utilized as conductors, as also any other metallic structure in the tunnel. A fourth conductor 21 is employed for transmitting an indication of the position of the vehicle. These conductors are fixed, by means of insulating-supports, to the bearers that carry the guide-rail 3, so as always to remain in the same position relatively to the rail, and consequently to the vehicle.

As the vehicle is intended to run at a great speed, the natural stopping distance would be very considerable. In order to shorten this,

. braking devices are employed, having'the following effect: first, to increase momentarily the resistance offered by the air; secondly, to apply brake-blocks to the guide-rail; thirdly, to produce by means of the motors a retarding-couple. These several devices are combined in'the following manner: At the point Where the braking is to be produced the conductors are momentarily interrupted and are then continued by a section in which the cur rent can be transposed in two of the phases, so as to invert the direction of rotation of the motor-field. By this means the electric braking is effected. Should there be a stoppage of the current from any cause, so that there would be a risk of the vehicle passing the station, this is prevented by bringing the mechanical brakes into action, as follows: The vehicle carries at each end a compressed-air reservoir 22, Figs. 3 and 1, which by means of a reducing-valve 23 and two valves 24 25 supplies a brake-cylinder 26, which applies the brake-blocks 27 and 27 to the guide-rail 3. The valve 24 is controlled by a lever 28,which on entering the section where the braking is to be effected comes in contact with a fixed incline 29 and is thereby made to open the valve, so as to admit air-pressure to the brakecylinder. The lever is held in that position by a spring-catch 30 so long as the vehicle is on the said section. The second valve, 25, which is interposed between the valve 24: and the brake-cylinder, is electrically controlled by an electromagnet, which being included in one of the circuits of the motor or in the circuit of the fourth conductor keeps the valve 25 closed so long as current is being supplied. When the current is interrupted, the valve 25 opens and valve 24E being also open air-pressure passes to the brake-cylinder. Thus it will be seen that by a series of emissions and interruptions of current effected from the station the braking action can be controlled at will. The braking action is, furthermore, assisted by that of the four wings or shutters 32, two at each end of the vehicle. These shutters,which are closed normally, are fixed to pistons 33 in cylinders 34:, that can communicate with the valve 24, so that on the opening of this valve by the lever 28 airpressure is admitted to the cylinders 34, cansing the pistons to open the shutters, and thereby to increase the resistance to the passage of the vehicle through the air.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. Railway and apparatus for the transport of light loads, consisting of one or more lines of rail contained in a closed conduit tunnel or tube, each line consisting of a single runningrail and an upper guide-rail, the supports of such rails being constituted by surfaces of revolution whose central axis coincides with the center of gravity of the vehicle, and secondly of a vehicle mounted on springs and provided with two running-wheels each of which is driven through the medium of belts from an electric motor suspended from the framing by pivoted beams substantially as described.

meets 3 2. In transporting apparatus of the Kind away from the wheel-axle, substantially as deherein described, the arrangement of the elecscribed. tromotors that drive the running-wheels with In testimony that I claim the foregoing as a central fixed support suspended from beams my invention I have signed my name, in pres- 5 pivoted to the casing and a rotor the outer ence of two witnesses, this 7th day of August, 15

casing of which constitutes two pulleys that 1903.

drive by means of belts corresponding pulleys DIMITRI MQNNIER. on the axle of the running-wheels, the required Witnesses: tension of the belts being effected by springs GEORGE E. LIGHT,

I acting on the motor so, as to tend to draw it ALoIDE FABE. 

